Friday, November 12, 2010

So no photos today, but another subject I think is really important! How to apply a border or borders to a quilt.

For years I use to sew my borders on to my quilt by starting on the top and sewing down to the edge of the quilt and then just cutting off the remaining. Then I became a longarm quilter and found out that by doing that can possibly create some wonky quilts and wavy borders. I have directions on my Website on how to add borders to a quilt, but wanted to share them here too.

Directions for applying borders:

Determine the length of the quilt border by averaging the two or three center measurements of the quilt body.

Cut two borders that length and pin them to opposite sides of the quilt. Match the ends and centers, then gently ease in any fullness.

Pin, sew, and press

Repeat for the top and bottom borders.

We longarmers come across this often when quilting for others. I think that some quilters are just unaware of how to apply borders and how it affects the squareness of the quilt and the difficulty it can be to quilt it.

It really is a simple thing that can make such a huge difference. Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you have any comments on the subject feel free to share...

Thursday, November 4, 2010

This is Venita's quilt, which she did a very nice job. The pattern is Compass Star by Roxanne Carter. I combined a couple of different quilting styles on this quilt and was pleased with the results. I think it turned out great!